(a) A hospital contracting with the Medi-Cal program pursuant to this chapter shall not deny medical staff membership or clinical privileges for reasons other than a physician’s individual qualifications as determined by professional and ethical criteria, uniformly applied to all medical staff applicants and members. Determination of medical staff membership or clinical privileges shall not be made upon the basis of any of the following:
(1) The existence of a contract with the hospital or with others.
(2) Membership in, or affiliation with, any society, medical group, or teaching facility, or upon the basis of any criteria lacking professional justification, such as any basis listed in subdivision (a) of Section 12940 of the Government Code, as those bases are defined in Sections 12926 and 12926.1 of the Government Code, except as otherwise provided in Section 12940 of the Government Code.
(b) The special negotiator may authorize a contracting hospital to impose reasonable limitations on the granting of medical staff membership or clinical privileges to permit an exclusive contract for the provision of pathology, radiology, and anesthesiology services, except for consulting services requested by the admitting physician.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 788, Sec. 35. Effective January 1, 2005.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018